Sunday, May 02, 2010

What a year!Work, work and work.. and no time to blog properly. Maybe that's what happens when you get too involved in what you're doing. The result, you ask? Have a good look below!

Yes sir, that's right! You're looking at the blog of the Associate of the Year for the year 2009!
As always, the last two quarters in the year 2009 were the most hectic and tiring months of the year. It was during this time that our latest major project was under construction, under the careful scrutiny of our efficient team. Timings were odd, sleep was scarce and nightmares of problems unknown haunted our sleep. Fortunately, none of these nightmares found their way into the realm of the living.

After all that has been said and done, it was time to look back and see what we had achieved. So we did. And so did our management. And here's the result. An award, which my whole team deserves, but I got in everyone's place. Thanks everyone!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

I was reading an old book that has been in our house for a very long time.. and came upon a story titled "The Story of Susa, the Impetuous". As you can perhaps deduce from the title of the story, it is from a book of Japanese Fairy tales. What intrigued me were the names of the characters in the story, who were introduced right in the first two paragraphs.

"When Izanagi, the Lord who Invites, turned his back upon the unclean place, and bade farewell to Yomi, the World of the Dead, whither he had journeyed upon a quest, he beheld once more the Land of Fresh Rice Ears, and was glad. And he rested by the side of a clear river that he might perform purification.And Izanagi-no-Mikoto bathed in the upper reach. But he said, "The water of the upper reach is too rapid." Then he bathed in the lower reach; but he said, "The water of the lower reach is too sluggish." So he went down for the third time and bathed in the middle reach of the river. And as the water dropped from his beautiful countenance there were created three sublime deities - Ama Terassu, the Glory of High Heaven; Tsuki-Yomi-no-Kami, the Moon-Night-Possessor; and Susa, the Impetuous, the Lord of the Sea."
From: http://chestofbooks.com/fairy-tale/Japanese/XI-The-Story-Of-Susa-The-Impetuous.html

If you are a follower of the Naruto manga, and are current with the latest chapters, you will no doubt find that the names are very similar to the names of the techniques born out of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan.

In fact, the story of Izanagi and the birth of Amaterasu and the other two gods is part of a very old legend in Japanese Shinto culture. It is believed that the Emperor of Japan is a descendent of the goddess Tsuki-Yomi, who sends her grandson down to earth to pacify the land of Japan.
Naruto draws more than the names of these techniques from Japanese mythology. In the legend, it is said that Amaterasu is born from the left eye of Izanagi, and Tsuki-Yomi from his right. Compare this with the story of the Mangekyou Sharingan, where the user creates the black flames of Amaterasu from his left eye, and manipulated space and time using Tsukiyomi, with his right.

One of the more prominent features that manifests itself is the "Sword of Kusanagi", a legendary sword, and one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It is shown to be weilded by both Orochimaru and Sasuke. According to the legend, Susano finds the sword in one of the tails of the eight-headed demon-serpent called the Yamata no Orochi, which he kills to save his bride. The eight-headed serpent that comes out during the Sasuke-Itachi fight, and Itachi using his Susano'o to defeat it makes the scene almost a portrayal of historical drama.

The eight-headed serpent of legend, slain by Susano.

Orochimaru's Hydra Technique, slain by Itachi's Susano'o technique.

References of this sort abound, and it only needs knowledge of Japan's culture to recognize them and understand their significance.